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If you want your child to be more resilient, get them to join a choir, orchestra or band

<p>One of the most important qualities for a young person to develop is resilience. This involves their ability to overcome adversity. </p> <p>Resilience is perhaps more important now than ever. Today’s young people have been <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/children-youth/australias-youth-in-brief/contents/summary">facing adversity on a mass-scale</a>, thanks to COVID and all the disruptions to their education and social, home and working lives. </p> <p>The good news is, resilience is not just something you are born with. It <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/ca34a20a-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/ca34a20a-en#chapter-d1e10348">can be learned</a> from our experiences and interactions with others. </p> <p>Parents may not be aware that one way to develop resilience is through group music making, such as in a school or community choir, orchestra or band.</p> <h2>Our research</h2> <p>We wanted to investigate how group music making can develop skills beyond just learning to play an instrument or sing. </p> <p>Our <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/research/projects/music-resilience-project">study</a> is based on the Tasmanian Youth Orchestras, which include accomplished musicians aged from 14 to 25. This includes the state youth orchestra as well as two other orchestras, specialist ensembles and two choirs.</p> <p>For our project, we collected comments from players, managers and conductors/teachers on a closed Facebook site and then did eight follow-up interviews. </p> <p>Our findings show how qualities like teamwork, empathy and grit – all components of resilience – can be developed through group music making.</p> <h2>Teamwork</h2> <p>In order for a group of players to make a piece of music work, they have to work together. </p> <p>People have to listen to each other, understand what is happening around them, and be prepared to change how they play something (slow or fast, loud or soft) depending on how the group is performing. You need to be able to value the contributions of other people, not just your own. </p> <p>So, <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/research/projects/music-resilience-project/teamwork">we found</a> if you are playing in a band, you are learning team work skills. As David*, a conductor told us: "After a while, players realised that they were ultimately responsible to the other players not to the conductor."</p> <h2>Empathy</h2> <p>Players also need to be able to understand others in a group and share their feelings. </p> <p>In a choir or orchestra, the music making is a shared creative experience – that involves the whole body. And this is where <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/research/projects/music-resilience-project/empathy">empathy</a> comes in. </p> <p>Empathy, like teamwork, can be cumulative, growing over time through rehearsals and performances, as players and teachers support one another. As brass player Tom said, "I have to understand that I am not always going to be the main focus of a piece."</p> <p>Another player, Simon, told us about his realisation that other people were also having to work hard (and it wasn’t just about him). </p> <p>"You certainly aren’t the only person having to practise your doubles [playing two notes at once] for that piece."</p> <h2>Grit</h2> <p>It is important for young people to develop a “<a href="https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/">growth mindset</a>”, where they understand effort makes them stronger and learning is a long-term commitment.</p> <p>This is where <a href="https://www.utas.edu.au/research/projects/music-resilience-project/grit">grit</a> also comes in: pursing a goal and sticking with it even if it takes a lot of work or gets difficult.</p> <p>It can take many months to learn a piece of music up to performance standard. And learning an instrument requires practice every day. So commitment is a key part of learning music. </p> <p>Lawrence, a player, told us about participating in his school musical, "There were many points throughout the year which I felt like giving up […] but it was something I had committed to […]. I kept working on playing the music to the best of my ability, even if it felt like I couldn’t do it."</p> <p>Tory, a choir conductor, described performance as both “safe and unsafe”. Young people in a choir learn to deal with the unexpected as part of performance. And this takes a kind a bravery. </p> <p>"You’ve got safety in numbers, to some extent, but you are still stepping into the unknown every time you walk on stage to do a thing. You can rely on each other, because you’ve rehearsed, but stuff does go pear shaped. Stuff happens […] It’s an incredibly useful life skill to be able to go, ‘well, that sucked’ […] and go, all right ‘let’s [go again]’."</p> <h2>Why music?</h2> <p>But what is so special about music in fostering resilience? Young people also work in sporting teams or academic assignments. They can also work together while playing games. </p> <p>Playing music provokes activity in many different parts of the brain at the same time. Listening to music that we like triggers the pleasure/reward centre of the brain. Dopamine and serotonin are released, resulting in that “feel good” sensation, and <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/this-is-your-brain-on-music-daniel-levitin/book/9780241987353.html?source=pla&amp;gclid=Cj0KCQjw48OaBhDWARIsAMd966B_bnNSq0206FOdSKqjfAEbrRWPkyKsh1tlY4v7eD1JGqZMB5qYGmoaAgmKEALw_wcB">providing an incentive</a> to keep engaging with music.</p> <p>Learning a musical instrument also <a href="https://www.jneurosci.org/content/early/2021/01/14/JNEUROSCI.1985-20.2020/tab-article-info?versioned=true">strengthens connections</a> in the brain, linking the auditory cortex to parts of the brain involved in the processing of complex information. This link has <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.02023/full">been shown</a> to improve memory, motor functions and learning in other subject areas. </p> <p>Making music with others also <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364661313000491">affects levels</a> of the bonding hormone oxytocin, supporting a sense of togetherness, while reducing levels of the stress hormone cortisol, and boosting immune function.</p> <p>For young people, music can provide valuable respite from study and daily life, and <a href="https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1049732320944142">help</a> manage and express their emotions. </p> <p>So, if you want your child to be a team player who is empathetic and shows grit, our research suggests that joining a music group could be the answer.</p> <p><em>*names have been changed</em></p> <p><em>Image credits: Getty Images</em></p> <p><em>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://theconversation.com/if-you-want-your-child-to-be-more-resilient-get-them-to-join-a-choir-orchestra-or-band-190657" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>.</em></p>

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“Sworn to secrecy”: Aussie dad finally able to crow about daughter’s royal moment

<p>As one of the four-person choir that sang at Prince Philip’s scaled-back funeral, Miriam Allan also stood out as the only woman. Back in his Newcastle home, her father watched on proudly.</p> <p dir="ltr">Chris Allan said he has known his daughter was incredibly talented since she was a “musically precocious” six-year old.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Allan performed Jubilate Deo, Benjamin Britten’s sacred choral composition, alongside the choir at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor on Saturday. But, this wasn’t the first time she’s sung the song, having performed it since she was a child growing up in New South Wales.</p> <p dir="ltr">Before her latest performance and the establishment of her international renown as a soprano, her father said she would perform it at Newcastle’s Christ Church Cathedral.</p> <p dir="ltr">“The Britten that they sang during the service, she’s been singing since she was a little kid,” Mr Allan said.</p> <p dir="ltr">Having since moved to England in 2003, Mr Allan said his daughter would use him as a “sounding board”. He watched as her career blossomed, taking her on tours around the world with leading orchestras and choirs.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9SLiFKgtQy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/B9SLiFKgtQy/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Miriam Allan (@miriamsoprano)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">Reminiscing on fond memories of accompanying his daughter on piano, as a composer, and singing together, he said, “I played for her and gave her music to sing and so forth when she was younger.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“There were many times when we sang or played together - I would play the piano and accompany her.”</p> <p dir="ltr">The pair have performed on some of the same programs since she was a teenager. Their most recent performance in August 2019 was for the Newcastle Music Festival - held in the cathedral where her musical career started.</p> <p dir="ltr">Ms Allan is married to Richard Bannan, a lay clerk, one of the 12 choral singers employed to sing at St. George’s Chapel. She also teaches singing in Oxfordshire and is a singing coach at a preparatory school in Westminster.</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Allan said he was thrilled to watch his daughter perform at the sombre yet moving service for Prince Philip.</p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNz6evNA1Wb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="13"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CNz6evNA1Wb/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Miriam Allan (@miriamsoprano)</a></p> </div> </blockquote> <p dir="ltr">But, this isn’t the first time she’s performed for the Duke either. Mr Allan said, “She used to sing years ago in the Royal Guards Chapel and Prince Philip would often come to that, so she had sung for him a number of times.”</p> <p dir="ltr">“It was quite a lovely experience to be able to sing [for him] again.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Until a phone call on Friday afternoon, Mr Allan had no idea that his daughter would be performing for Queen Elizabeth and the 30 other royal family members in attendance and had expected her husband would be the one singing.</p> <p dir="ltr">“She said, ‘Someone in the family is going to sing and it’s not Rich’,” he said.</p> <p dir="ltr">“We were sworn to secrecy at the time because it was all embargoed.”</p> <p dir="ltr">He was surprised and thrilled, and said “it was a great opportunity for her.”</p> <p dir="ltr">Mr Allan, along with his wife, Gerogei Laney, watched the performance from their Newcastle home.</p> <p dir="ltr">Commenting on her composure, he said, “To have that ability and to be able to keep your composure under that stressful condition when you know lots of people are watching is pretty good.”</p>

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Singing helps relieve stress according to top psychiatrists

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">One of the UK’s leading psychiatrists has said that people who are feeling stressed should consider joining a choir.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Professor Sir Simon Wessely made the announcement in a keynote speech at a recent conference on the subject of mental health among students.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“The risk is not just ineffective solutions, but the real possibility that our solutions may actually be contributing to the problem,” he said, according to </span><a href="https://www.classicfm.com/music-news/feeling-stressed-join-a-choir/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Classic FM</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">He went on to say: “I would love to see trials of volunteering, peer support, sport, drama, choir and so on – that’s the research I believe we need.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">It’s not the first time that he has criticised mental health initiatives that are offered at universities across the country.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“There are things that aren’t disorders at all that students habitually get – exam stress, loneliness and so on – all of which can be problematic. But we shouldn’t go round automatically saying ‘Oh you have a psychiatric disorder, you need psychiatric or mental health or professional health,” he said to </span><a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/2018/06/29/universities-may-fuelling-mental-health-crisis-leading-psychiatrist/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Telegraph</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Loneliness is a major problem for the current student population,” Prof Wessely said. “There is quite a lot of evidence that says that the solution may not be to see a counsellor, but it may be to join a choir.”</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“If you’re going to raise awareness in order to encourage people to seek professional help, you have to make bloody sure the services are there to deal with it,” he said .</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">“Otherwise what you do is add to disappointment,  frustration and anger of the people with the problems and add to the likely burn out and retirement of people trying to help [such as GPs].”</span></p>

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Concert shows women in perfect harmony

<p>The love for what they do is clear to see when the Manawatu Overtones sing.</p><p>The Palmerston North group of 30 female barbershop singers have created a combined concert which will see them sharing the stage with all-female groups, the Wellington City Chorus, He Tangata-New Zealand Show Chorus and Revelry.</p><p>Overtones member Jenni Masters said it would be a fantastic celebration of barbershop singing.</p><p>"It's the wonderful feeling that you get when you're singing in four-part harmonies. It's like surround sound."</p><p>Founding member Sylvia Fountain, who was part of the&nbsp; original seven women who started the group 11 years ago, agreed.</p><p>"It's the buzz that comes from not having an instrument to lean on and it's all about the voice."</p><p>"We started off just meeting in one of our member's houses and as we grew we eventually started to rehearse at the Milson Church Hall."</p><p>The barbershop group is affiliated with the Sweet Adelines, a worldwide organisation of female singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.</p><p>The whole organisation is really education based, Fountain said.</p><p>"When people join they can't expect to remain the same singer that they did when they first met us. There's a lot of technique and we are always learning."</p><p>The repertoire of songs the group will be singing on the night are "fun, favourites" one of the groups director's, Liz Watts, said.</p><p>"We have a Chicago medley, which is from the old song Chicago, that one is a lot of fun", tenor Chris Thompson said.</p><p>"[I] can't stay still for that one."</p><p>The programme will also include songs from ABBA, the Beatles, Dean Martin and Michael Buble and member Faye Roberts said the groups showmanship and friendships would also be on display.</p><p>"One of the great things about the group is that we all come from all different walks of life but it is the camaraderie that we have when we meet together. It's a great group."</p><p>World on a String will be held at Palmerston North's Speirs Centre on October 31.</p><p><em>Image credit: Facebook / Manawatu Overtures</em></p><p>Written by Carly Thomas. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2015/10/iphone-photo-tips/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>8 iPhone photo tips you’ll want to know about</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2015/10/social-media-health-benefits-study/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Social media good for older people’s health</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2015/10/people-failed-at-technology/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>8 people who utterly failed at technology</strong></em></span></a></p>

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Concert shows women in perfect harmony

<p>The love for what they do is clear to see when the Manawatu Overtones sing.</p><p>The Palmerston North group of 30 female barbershop singers have created a combined concert which will see them sharing the stage with all-female groups, the Wellington City Chorus, He Tangata-New Zealand Show Chorus and Revelry.</p><p>Overtones member Jenni Masters said it would be a fantastic celebration of barbershop singing.</p><p>"It's the wonderful feeling that you get when you're singing in four-part harmonies. It's like surround sound."</p><p>Founding member Sylvia Fountain, who was part of the&nbsp; original seven women who started the group 11 years ago, agreed.</p><p>"It's the buzz that comes from not having an instrument to lean on and it's all about the voice."</p><p>"We started off just meeting in one of our member's houses and as we grew we eventually started to rehearse at the Milson Church Hall."</p><p>The barbershop group is affiliated with the Sweet Adelines, a worldwide organisation of female singers committed to advancing the musical art form of barbershop harmony through education and performance.</p><p>The whole organisation is really education based, Fountain said.</p><p>"When people join they can't expect to remain the same singer that they did when they first met us. There's a lot of technique and we are always learning."</p><p>The repertoire of songs the group will be singing on the night are "fun, favourites" one of the groups director's, Liz Watts, said.</p><p>"We have a Chicago medley, which is from the old song Chicago, that one is a lot of fun", tenor Chris Thompson said.</p><p>"[I] can't stay still for that one."</p><p>The programme will also include songs from ABBA, the Beatles, Dean Martin and Michael Buble and member Faye Roberts said the groups showmanship and friendships would also be on display.</p><p>"One of the great things about the group is that we all come from all different walks of life but it is the camaraderie that we have when we meet together. It's a great group."</p><p>World on a String will be held at Palmerston North's Speirs Centre on October 31.</p><p><em>Image credit: Facebook / Manawatu Overtures</em></p><p>Written by Carly Thomas. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Related links:</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2015/10/iphone-photo-tips/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>8 iPhone photo tips you’ll want to know about</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2015/10/social-media-health-benefits-study/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>Social media good for older people’s health</strong></em></span></a></p><p><a href="http://www.oversixty.co.nz/entertainment/technology/2015/10/people-failed-at-technology/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>8 people who utterly failed at technology</strong></em></span></a></p>

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